Applying for a federal grant can be a lot of work involving many moving parts. On top of strategizing, conducting meetings, and writing a compelling proposal, there are other little-but-necessary tasks on the path to successfully submitting your application that you should do well before the closing date. Here are 3 tips to avoid some of those last minute problems:

1) Make sure your organization’s SAM registration is up to date weeks before the deadline. If your SAM registration is out of date when you attempt to submit, your application will not be accepted. Depending on your organization’s situation, it can take one day, two weeks, or a month to register with SAM.

2) Finish and submit your application at least 24-48 hours before the deadline. Stuff happens—computers crash, uploads take too long, internet goes out, there are errors in the package. Don’t miss a grant opportunity because you waited too long or tried to squeeze in a few extra changes on the last day.

3) Let the users with the AOR role know ahead of time when you are close to finishing the grant application. If you are cutting it close to the deadline (see Tip #2), you want them to be prepared to submit the application as soon as you are ready.